I have a full ride at chapman and decent scholarships at both santa clara and seattle u so those two are pretty much the same price.

I want to practice international law (either working for a government agency like USAID or doing international commerce).

I was leaning towards santa clara because they seem to have the best program for international law but with their slip in the rankings and chapman coming into the top 100 i'm really not sure if santa clara is worth it, money wise.

IMO, it's really just a choice of where you want to live, The Pacific Northwest or Northern California.

Santa Clara has somehow managed to get dropped from the list of top 10 IP law schools despite the fact that they are in silicon valley. How they managed that, I don't know.

In any event, both are regional schools and neither is the best school in its area, so you'll have to do well at either to get a good job, but Santa Clara is I think more well known for their international law program, so that is probably the tie-breaker for you from my point of view.

rickter wrote:IMO, it's really just a choice of where you want to live, The Pacific Northwest or Northern California.

Santa Clara has somehow managed to get dropped from the list of top 10 IP law schools despite the fact that they are in silicon valley. How they managed that, I don't know.

In any event, both are regional schools and neither is the best school in its area, so you'll have to do well at either to get a good job, but Santa Clara is I think more well known for their international law program, so that is probably the tie-breaker for you from my point of view.

I don't know much about international law programs (international practical career goal outside of t14?) but a full ride is a full ride, and while Santa Clara isn't a horrible school in comparison to chapman, minimizing debt should be a priority for any student outside t14.

rickter wrote:IMO, it's really just a choice of where you want to live, The Pacific Northwest or Northern California.

Santa Clara has somehow managed to get dropped from the list of top 10 IP law schools despite the fact that they are in silicon valley. How they managed that, I don't know.

In any event, both are regional schools and neither is the best school in its area, so you'll have to do well at either to get a good job, but Santa Clara is I think more well known for their international law program, so that is probably the tie-breaker for you from my point of view.

Santa Clara does not appear on the international law list, but they do have a respected international law program.

According to the USNWR Ultimate Guide to law Schools 3rd Edition, both SC and Seattle have international law specialties, but Santa Clara's seems more fleshed out with more options for summer abroad (13) as well as the impressive sounding "Center for Global Law and Policy." Whatever that means. Seattle's international law specialty seems to consist of 2 summer abroad locations and a "Global Justice Center". Whatever that means.

I think the more relevant choice is where the OP would rather live, and in that case I'd personally choose Northern California over Washington State. YMMV

I don't know much about international law programs (international practical career goal outside of t14?) but a full ride is a full ride, and while Santa Clara isn't a horrible school in comparison to chapman, minimizing debt should be a priority for any student outside t14.

I agree with this. The kind of international law you are seeking probably doesn't pay well. None of these 3 schools is a T14, meaning that none of them will give you an advantage in this field. The only thing you can do in this situation is minimize your debt.

I don't know much about international law programs (international practical career goal outside of t14?) but a full ride is a full ride, and while Santa Clara isn't a horrible school in comparison to chapman, minimizing debt should be a priority for any student outside t14.